Vodka, pills found in fatal crash truck

SANTA FE, N.M. - Santa Fe police backed a a search warrant have scoured through the smashed-up remains of the Ford F-250 pickup truck James Ruiz was driving the night of a fatal crash that killed two teenage sisters.

In the search warrant obtained by News 13, investigators stated they found a half-empty bottle of vodka along with two bottles of prescription pills, one prescribed to James Ruiz and the other to a man who wasn’t in the truck when it crashed.

“That's still part of the investigation; I'm sure they'll follow up on that,” Santa Fe Police Chief Aric Wheeler said Wednesday. “But I'm not sure why exactly that medication is there and what the relevance is at this point in time.”

Investigators believe Ruiz and his passengers, Gilbert Mendoza and Veronica Castro, were at the Blue Corn Café on Cerrillos Road before the crash.

The café’s president, Jeff Jinnett, confirmed that the group was there.  He told News 13 Ruiz and Mendoza each had three shots of whiskey and three beers while Castro had three vodka drinks.

Jinnett said the trio spent two hours at the restaurant before leaving without paying their tab.

He recalled the group left close to 9 p.m., and the crash happened just minutes later on Cerrillos Road.

Jinnett said the manager of the café kept a good eye on the three and said there is no indication they were overserved alcohol.

“Blue Corn Café has fully cooperated with us as law enforcement," Wheeler said.  "They've come forth with all the necessary information that we need."

News 13 learned Tuesday that Ruiz’s blood alcohol level after the crash was 0.22; nearly three times the presumed level of intoxication.

A search warrant for receipts and transaction records at the Applebee’s restaurant on Cerrillos was also issued.  Investigators believe the group may have been there before going to Blue Corn.

“We'll be looking at it, examining it, comparing it with credit card receipts to see what type of purchases were made at Applebee’s,” Wheeler said.

A spokesperson for the restaurant said only that the company is working with police.

The passengers have not been charged, but Wheeler said they could be later.

Castro and the parents of victims Deshauna and Del Peshlakai are still at the hospital.

Wheeler said the Peshlakais are doing better, but Castro has been moved to intensive care.

Ruiz was scheduled to go on trial Wednesday for a 2008 DWI arrest, but that has been postponed.